We have read about some interesting coinage and their backstories as part of Whitman Publishing's 100 Greatest Modern World Coins series. This time we find ourselves in Greece during the early 1900s with another equally interesting backstory. Authors Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker guide us through the coinage of a king who managed to rule twice but both times unsuccessfully.
#52 – Greece 1915 Silver 2 Drachmai Pattern
Born the first Greek member of the ruling Glücksburg dynasty, Constantine I ruled for six years spread over two different reigns. His first reign began when he would ascend to the throne after the assassination of his father George I. This happened in March of 1913 at the hands of a gunman by the name of Alexandros Schinas, a malcontent of the current regime. Plans had already been made for George I to abdicate after the jubilee celebration of October of that year.
Constantine was not new to politics, Greek nor international. He would see the rebirth of the Olympic movement in 1896 when Athens held the first modern games. The public’s good feelings about him were soon wiped away after the country was defeated in the first Greco-Turkish War, or the Thirty Days’ War. Constantine was the army commander at this time and his army of 36,000 men was defeated at Farsala and Domokos. Just a few months after he became king, he would win back public perception by defeating the Bulgarian army at Kilkis-Lahanas and Kresna Gorge during the Second Balkan War in June of 1913.
Adding more fuel to the fire, Constantine’s stance to remain neutral during World War I would cause a rift between him and his prime minister, Eleftherios Venizelos, who wanted to enter the war to support Russia, Great Britain, and France. This increased the threat of a civil war within the country’s borders, especially after Constantine would fire the prime minister and install allies. He also was unable to protect parts of Greece’s territory that was overtaken by Central Powers. The former prime minister would seize that opportunity of unrest, leading the public to force the king into exile. Thus began the reign of Alexander, Constantine’s second born son. He would serve as a puppet while Venizelos wielded his power and control over the government. Alexander would end up getting bitten by a barbary macaque while walking his dogs through the woods, leading to an infection on his leg and torso that would end up killing him just days later.
The next month after Alexander’s death, an election would end with voters turning on Venizelos and calling for Constantine I to return. Although popular once again at first, this would take a turn when Greece would lose to the Turks in the second Greco-Turkish War from 1919-1922. He once again would step down while his eldest son, George II took over. As the country continued to decline, the twice ousted king would spend the rest of his days in Palermo, Italy, where he died in 1923.
Due to the nature of his reigns', circulating coinage was never introduced by the Greek government. However, in 1915, the Paris Mint did design new drachma and 2-drachmai coins featuring Constantine I on the obverse. These designs did not make it past the pattern stage. Those patterns known to exist were struck in several compositions, including gold and silver. These coins are extremely rare and hardly ever seen.